10 Things You Didn’t Know About Chevrolet

There are some moments in your life that you never really forget: your first kiss, the mascot of your high school football team, your first truck. In fact, these memories are so ingrained in us that they’re often our passwords. Admit it, these are at least answers to a few password retrieval questions of yours. That first truck, though, is what brings us to Chevrolet.

While Chevy’s reputation as a loyal and reliable brand follows it everywhere, here are 10 facts that you might not know about this symbol of Americana.

10. The first Chevrolet sold for $2,152.00.

Chevrolet began in 1911 when Louis Chevrolet and General Motors’ CEO William C. Durant joined forces after Durant was forced out of General Motors. The Series C Classic Six ran at the top speed of 65 miles per hour and sold for what would $50,000 today.

8. The Chevrolet Suburban holds a record of its own.

In production since 1933 and introduced in 1935, the Chevrolet Suburban is the longest running automobile nameplate of all time. There have been 12 generations of Suburbans with a 13th scheduled to appear in 2019. The 1937 Chevrolet Carryall Suburban is featured in the photo above.

7. Polish resistance fighters in WWII loved Chevy, too.

During the Warsaw Uprising in WWII, the fighters in the Polish Resistance turned the chassis of a Chevrolet into an armored car. The car was armed with a flame-thrower and a machine gun, and went by Kubuś, the Polish translation of Winnie the Pooh.

6. Chevy has an inventive shipping team.

The Chevrolet Vega models in the 1970s were shipped vertically and by doing so, General Motors could “double the amount of Vega models it could ship.” While rail cars could only fit 15 models, the vertical packing pattern allowed for 30 vehicles in one rail car.

4. You could buy a C5 Corvette kit and build your own race car.

From 1999 to 2001, General Motors launched the C5 Corvette kit, which included a “rolling chassis complete with arrive, a bunch of body panels, and any number of small parts.” GM was trying to up the reputation of the Corvette as a racing car, but stopped the program after only selling 42 kits over three years.

3. Chevy tried to introduce a dial steering system.

In the 1960s, car manufacturers were in an all-out battle for customers. The models produced during this time are hilarious, especially this concept vehicle: the Chevy Turbo-Titan III. The truck was meant to be an advanced shipping truck and a dial steering system that looks like it came straight from a sci-fi movie.

2. They know how to work gas mileage.

1. The bow-tie wasn’t always the logo.

The first logo of the company was a sprawling Chevrolet that looks an awful lot like Ford’s logo. However, in 1913, the bowtie emblem was introduced, but no one’s sure on why it is a bowtie. The rumors? Durant designed it after some French hotel wallpaper, it represents the Swiss cross for Chevrolet’s parents, or it was stolen from the Coalettes, a Southern coal company.

Bonus fact. Durant built the brand on Chevrolet’s reputation as a reliable and winning racer. That’s why it’s simply Chevrolet. I think it worked, what about you?